World Series of Poker Preview: The Return of Mighty Joe Cada

Joe Cada was a complete amateur when he won last year’s World Series of Poker "Main Event" No-Limit Texas Hold ’Em championship—just a shy, quiet kid from Shelby Township, Mich. He took home a cool $8.5 million for his work, but in the year since his remarkable victory (21-year-olds don’t customarily win the WSOP, and certainly not on their first try) not much has changed about the guy. He still prefers dressing down. He still spends most of his time with buddies. And he still kicks butt at the poker table. This week, Cada is gearing up to defend his title at the 2010 championship, which begins July 5. GQ.com contributor Matt Villano caught up with Cada to chat about the past year of his life and his strategy to repeat as champ. Read the full interview after the jump.

Cada faces off against Darvin Moon at the final table of the 2009 WSOP

How did you celebrate your big win?

A couple of days after, I had a celebration party at Pure, a nightclub in Las Vegas. I rented out a whole floor. The funny thing was that I was there for about five minutes. I was told I had to be up at 3 a.m. for a morning show, and I wasn’t feeling very well, so I left early to get a few hours of sleep.

How else have you spent your winnings?

I’ve saved most of them. I did go on a cruise for the first time, to the Bahamas. It felt good to have time off.

What has been the best part of life as a poker celebrity?

Most of my life is pretty much the same. I still spend two to three weeks of every month back in Michigan. What’s different is that I have gotten to meet some pretty amazing people. I’ve met actor Sean Astin. I’ve also met a bunch of my sports heroes: Rip Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons and Jimmy Howard of the Red Wings. The fact that I have normal conversations with these people blows me away. Some of them even ask me about poker.

When you’re out, do women recognize you?

Men tend to recognize me. Not so much with girls, though. I’m in a relationship, so when women do approach me, it’s not as exciting as it would be if I were single.

How does it feel to be back at the WSOP?

This is only my second one, but I’m glad to be back. Last year some friends and I rented a house in Vegas for the duration of the World Series and we’re doing the same thing this year. At the World Series, though, this year obviously is different because everybody knows who I am. I probably sign 12 to 15 autographs a day. I’m also posing for tons of pictures with people. It’s hard to get used to that stuff. I’m a pretty shy person.

What’s the strangest thing someone has asked you to sign?

An older lady asked me to sign her chest. She had me sign her shirt, but you can imagine where she wanted me to sign it. That was definitely different.

The World Series comprises 57 events. How many have you played so far?

Eleven total, including a few smaller No-Limit tournaments and the $10,000 Heads-Up tournament. Honestly, things haven’t been going so well so far. In general, poker tournaments are pretty streaky, and this year they’ve been going pretty bad. Last year the same thing happened before the Main Event; I think I started out 0-12.

What will your strategy be for this year’s Main Event?

I normally take my time at the beginning of tournaments to see how the table is playing and adjust accordingly. I will play tight and snug for a while and only play really good hands. We all start with so many chips, there’s no reason to open a lot of hands. On the flip side, I know some people are going to be gunning for me and I need to be aware of when I might be able to take advantage of that. The great thing about poker, you constantly have to adjust.

Nobody has won back-to-back Main Events in your lifetime. Is that a realistic goal?

I’m just going to take it one day at a time. Because the field is so big, there are literally thousands of landmines you need to avoid in order to do what I did last year. If I lose a few pots and get down in chips, I have to make sure I don’t get rattled.

Will you wear the bracelet at the table?

I’m not sure yet. I might, just because it’s the Main Event. I’m not a showy guy, but I feel like this is the one place I can wear it.

The WSOP will allow players to Tweet during the 2010 Main Event. Will you do that?

Haven’t really Tweeted while playing before, but I’m thinking I might do it this year [from @cada99] during breaks. My agent seemed to think it’d be a good idea. It’s still weird to me to have an agent, but I have one and I need to do what he says. We’ll see.

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